The desirability of playing sounds such as music or instructions through small speakers mounted in or on footwear such as shoes or boots are well known. Various music sources such as an MP3 player, recordable microchip, integrated memory device or microprocessor with a ROM memory have been proposed for placement in shoes. This placement can subject these expensive components to damage from dirt, water, vibration and shock when the foot wearer is engaged for example in a running activity. Music source devices in or on a footwear also adds undesirable weight and bulkiness to the footwear.
The present invention avoids these drawbacks by use of a music source having audio playing capabilities which is easily hand held. Recent hand held devices often have built in Bluetooth technology. For older hand held devices, an inexpensive Bluetooth enabled audio adapter antenna is connected to an existing USB port or mini USB port on the music source to wirelessly transmit Bluetooth® sound signals to the Bluetooth® wireless protocol compatible multi-level integrated circuit board assembly located in the footwear. A tiny amplifier integrated with the circuit board enhances mini-speaker performance. Sound volume may be either controlled by the hand held device or by a volume control feature on the mini-speakers.
The hand held music source may be a smartphone. Exemplary kinds of smart phones include but are not limited to a Droid® phone or a HTC EVO 4G Android® phone. Other examples of music sources include but are not limited to any iPhone®, iPad®, iPad Nano®, iPod®, iPad 3G®, iPad Shuffle®, iPad Touch®, iPad Tablet®, iPod Touch®, MP3 player, CD player, microchip player, laptop computer or computer. Other examples of the hand held device include personal digital assistant (PDA) and the Touch Pad®. Use of already owned hand held music sources greatly reduces the cost of this invention to the footwear owner.